It’s been some 50 years since Elvis Costello first made the trip across the pond from London to New York.
And the bespectacled singer-songwriter behind such classics as “Alison,” “Pump It Up” and “Veronica” returned to his early days playing smaller rooms in the city at the Soho Sessions loft space Tuesday night.
After performing in the intimate setting at the private event before a star-studded crowd — including Whoopi Goldberg, Tracy Morgan, Susan Sarandon, Liev Schreiber, tennis great John McEnroe and supermodel Paulina Porizkova — Costello reflected on his first New York show.
“I don’t think the place I played first was very much bigger than this, if it was bigger,” Costello, 70, exclusively told The Post. “The Bottom Line would have been the first time. And then we moved on up to the Palladium on 14th Street, when 14th Street was pretty interesting.
“You have to play everywhere in the end,” he added. “You find the places that you feel good in, you know? And I’ve had venues that I like here. But it was nice to be in this one.”
While he may still enjoy playing cool new venues such as the Soho Sessions hot spot, Costello has no plans to make any new music — 48 years after releasing his debut album, 1977’s “My Aim Is True.”
“Right now, I’ve made so many records, might be time to let somebody else make records for a while,” he said.
Five decades later, Costello is also a certified New Yorker himself, living in Manhattan with his wife of 22 years, jazz singer-pianist Diana Krall, and their 18-year-old twin sons Dexter and Frank.
“I like being here,” he said.
Costello also has a special connection to New Orleans, which was on display at the Soho Sessions, where he was the surprise guest during Grammy-winning NOLA musician Trombone Shorty’s set that also featured Big Easy legend Ivan Neville on keyboards.
“I worked down in New Orleans with Allen Toussaint,” Costello said of the late musician with whom he collaborated on 2006’s “The River in Reverse.” “That’s why we did that first song [‘On Your Way Down’].
“We made a record together right after [Hurricane] Katrina,” he continued. “It was only three months after, and the city was still under curfew … He lost his home and his studio, so he had to rebuild a different life. And that was very inspiring.”
Costello has also collaborated with Paul McCartney, with the two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers co-writing 15 songs together. In fact, they partnered to pen Costello’s biggest US hit, 1989’s “Veronica.” Although the song is upbeat, there’s a heartbreaking personal story behind it.
“The song is about Alzheimer’s. You know, it’s about the onset of dementia my grandmother was going through,” who titled the song after his grandmother’s Catholic confirmation name.
“And I wanted to write a joyful song about the little last glimmers of light. So I feel quite proud of the fact that we took a serious subject like that, and it wasn’t a melancholy sounding record.”
As with every Soho Sessions event, this one had a charitable component, benefiting the Trombone Shorty Foundation that supports the next generation of musicians. Costello has long been lending his talents for good causes, going back to Live Aid in 1985.
“They need to have the people that raise awareness,” said Costello.
But he’s not looking for a pat on the back. “You don’t want to really feel good about yourself for doing something you should be doing, just helping other people.”
Having turned 70 last August, Costello hasn’t been phased by that big birthday. “I don’t think it matters so much,” he said, adding that he feels “fortunate” as a new septuagenarian.
“You know, my parents are no longer with us, which is something you have to face,” he said. “But my wife and I have two boys who are just about to graduate from high school. And I have an older son [Matthew, 50, with first wife Mary Burgoyne] in England.”
Costello, who released a super deluxe edition of his 1986 album “King of America” last August, will be hitting the road with his band the Imposters June 12.
“We’re actually gonna concentrate just on the songs from the first couple years,” he said. “It gets quite difficult to put the whole story, 50 years of music, into one evening.”
Content shared from nypost.com.